Mangalore, Aug 29: The second additional district and sessions court here on Thursday sentenced Rashid Malbari to five years in jail after upholding his conviction under Arms Act for illegally possessing prohibited weapons.
The court on Monday had found Malbari guilty under section 25(1) (a) of Arms Act.
As Malbari had already served four and half years in the custody, the court ordered him to serve the remaining period of the sentence.
In addition, Rs 11, 500 are to be paid to the state if failed he has to undergo one year additional rigorous imprisonment in the jail.
His close aide Muhammad Hashim is also guilty of the same charges.
On Wednesday, Public prosecutor Manjunath V Bhat Panne sought maximum punishment citing a report of the investigating officer on the criminal antecedents of the accused.
Shivaprasad Alva K, the public prosecutor who conducted the case prior to Manjunath said there was no evidence that could prove beyond reasonable doubt that Malbari and his associates were involved in criminal conspiracy to eliminate Pramod Mutalik and Varun Gandhi in 2009, Alva said.
The above court acquitted Malbari of charges of murdering two alleged henchmen of ChotaRajan in Panambur in 2009 due to insufficient evidence. Cases pending against Malbari in Mangalore include one of masterminding murder of a person at Kanchana Textiles while he was in judicial custody, a case of which has been registered in Mangalore North PS and that of obstructing a government servant on duty in Barke PS.
Malbari's case was first heard by fast track court judges J D Narasimhamurthy and Majjage who examined among them 14 witnesses. The court was transferred to the fourth additional district and sessions court where B K Naik heard two witnesses before declaring Malbari and his associated Mhd Hasim guilty.
Malbari was arrested by the sleuths of District Crime and Intelligence Bureau at Chattanchal in Kasargod on March 29, 2009 in a case of murder registered on September 8, 1997 in which he allegedly killed a Chhota Rajan gang member, Shabbir Khan Murad Khan Pathan, at Tilak Nagar.
He has more than 10 cases registered against him in several police stations in Mumbai, Bangalore and Mangalore.
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